1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to the construction of street cleaning vehicles and, in particular, to a new and useful washing and vacuuming vehicle which includes a suction shoe located in a hood portion carried below the vehicle body which is provided with a skirt around its periphery for engagement over the ground, and which includes a nozzle in the hood for directing liquid in the direction of an intake of the suction shoe which is spaced slightly above the sealing slot which the hood makes with the ground.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At the present time it is known to employ hydraulic jets for aiding in the cleaning and vacuuming of streets and these are usually arranged at an angle of from 30 to 45.degree. with respect to the street so that the debris is deflected upwardly by the jet and collected in a filtering system which removes the water for re-use. The cleansing effect is based on the reflection of the hydraulic jets which are intended to entrain the dirt or debris deposited at the point of reflection. The hydraulic jets which are employed are used under pressures of up to 100 atmospheres in excess. The collecting channels for receiving the slurries and debris require improvement inasmuch as they permit a very large loss of water. For this reason, it has already been proposed to use suction devices and suction funnels instead of the collection channels and to direct the hydraulic jets below the suction funnels by means of hydraulic nozzles. With such an arrangement, the hydraulic nozzles are located behind the suction funnels in respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, and pneumatic nozzles are arranged before the suction funnels. The pneumatic nozzles provide a barrier in respect to the reflected water jets and debris. In spite of this barrier, however, the loss of water is still relatively high and the suction effect is frequently not sufficiently satisfactory for intense cleaning.